Under the Old Oak Tree
by wolfgrl1423
Summary: Post Cannon. One-shot. Sesshomaru pays a visit to the old oak tree where he first met his kind ward who showed him how to care for others. He didn't understand why he came, and is visited by someone he didn't expect to see.


The Old Oak Tree

_A/N: I've decided to write another one-shot! Now before all the readers of my other unfinished fanfics try to murder me, I promise that I am also working on the newest chapters for my other stories as well. No worries! I hope you enjoy my little story =)_

(Divider)

He didn't understand why he had come. Why he now stood at the place where he had first met her. Where her first act of kindness had shown him what the human race was capable of. What he was capable of.

The wind brushed past his silvery locks as he eyed the large oak tree where he had once laid so long ago. Where his mangled body would have been so ripe for the taking had anyone the courage to face him. But instead a human, no, a girl tried to heal him instead. He, a demon, the previously assumed enemy of all humans.

His golden eyes captured every crevasse, every crack that marked the old tree. He even saw a faint imprint of claw marks when he had gripped the bark upon his descent. He had realized back then that Tensaiga had saved his life, but it had not protected him from the savage wounds that Tetsuiga had inflicted.

Perhaps her act had been selfishly done. A way to ensure her own survival. She had no idea that he was barely alive, barely clinging to life, so much so that even she could have ended the life of one such as he had she the motivation to. No, she must have feared him. Feared him like all the other humans.

The rustling of the forest wildlife played almost like a tune to his ears as he fought within himself to stay. There was no more time for her to remain in his thoughts, there never was. He had made that very clear when he had left her crying in the village a few miles away from that very tree. He had not wanted to give the girl hope that she could continue traveling with him. Could not allow those dark brown depths that she called eyes to lighten with the emotion. Such an action was too cruel, even for him. Still, he could not erase the memory of her smile nor the sweet smell of her scent. Such a sweet, calming scent. It had been a long time since then, and he knew that her survival up to this point was very unlikely.

Unbeknownst to him, amongst his thoughts, was the presence of another. She lay below the brush, her plum colored working kimono pressed to the hard ground as she covered her mouth to soften her breathing. She had been picking berries when he had appeared, and he seemed far too transfixed with the old oak tree to pay any heed to her. She still ducked when he had landed, not willing to risk her life for another good look at him.

Her breath had been stolen from her chest the moment the barrier around his form revealed the man, no, the demon from within. He looked nothing like the men in her village, and yet there was something familiar about him. Something that called out to her like no other man had. It made no sense to her given that she hadn't met the demon before.

He wore robes and armor of royalty, and she was amazed at how clean he was. It was such an obscure observation, but being surrounded by nothing but filth all of her life made it quite noticeable. She glanced down at her hand gripping a berry vine to spot the splotches of dirt that coated them and the rest of her body as well. For some reason, other than genuine fear of him, she did not want him to see her like this. She wanted one such as he to see her clean and beautiful. To see her layered in the finest silk kimonos and have her long locks flowing down her back in such a way that they shimmered when hit by the light.

She watched him as he stared at the oak tree, pondering perhaps, over past memories or future plans. His face was angled so that she could not get a good look at his eyes, but she did see the slight angle of his cheekbone. Two magenta stripes decorated that part of his face, and although she couldn't see it, she suspected that a blue crescent moon would be on his forehead.

She should be scared, shaking in terror at being so close to a demon, but she wasn't. There was something about him that...calmed her in such a way that convinced her that he would not harm her. His calm demeanor and state of ease suggested that he had not come to fight. Merely to rest or reflect, but not to harm. She etched him in her mind as she tried to place her familiarity with him. Perhaps if he'd merely turn ever so slightly, she'd see him better. Maybe then she would know who he was.

As if beckoned by her thoughts she saw his head turn slightly towards her, his eyes catching hers. She sucked in her breath far louder than she had meant to, and knew that her cover was blown. His eyebrows inched ever so slightly towards his nose as he studied her for a moment before he disappeared. She bounced to her feet and stared at the place where he had just been. She had never seen anyone disappear into thin air before, demon or human. Had her presence scared him away? Was he a shy demon rather than a fearsome one?

"Human," a deep voice greeted as the young woman whirled around to spot the demon a mere foot from her, "why have you been cowering there?"

"I – I was not cowering," she insisted with a nervous gulp, "I was merely lying on the ground to get better access to the berries beneath it," she added while pointing to the bush where she had been in fact cowering.

Now that he stood before her his golden eyes held her still. There was no anger in them, nor judgement. In fact, there was no emotion in them at all. That observation alone made her feel even more uneasy. She was used to anger, to being on the wrong side of a demon's rage.

"Hn," he responded, his disinterest surprising her. Most demons would question her further, or try to kill her. She took the few precious seconds of silence to study him further. It wasn't very common for humans to be allowed to look upon a demon and survive.

His silver hair cascaded down his broad shoulders to the middle of his back and his angelic features almost seemed to glow in the afternoon sunlight. He was so unreal that she was almost positive she had to be imagining him. It would explain why he hadn't killed her yet. But in the same moment she also knew that he looked like someone she had seen before. Like she had heard a description of his face before.

_Magenta stripes that sweep past his cheekbones and a crescent moon that sits between his silver bangs_, her grandmother's loving words rang in her head. This demon had to be the one that she had mentioned, the one that had saved her life when she was a child.

"Why have you come to this tree, to our village?" she asked, though noted the slight disapproval that darkened his eyes at her blunt invasion of his private affairs. It shouldn't matter to her what he was doing or why he was there. Demons did not need to explain their actions, especially to a lowly village girl like herself.

"What is your name, human?" he answered her with his own question. Her eyes widened slightly as she struggled to compose herself and shut her gaping mouth. Why on earth would a demon want to know her name?

"Rima," she replied as she felt a breeze whip past her dark locks and tangle them around her waist, "it's the name my grandmother always wanted to name her daughter. She had all boys so she never got the chance," she laughed slightly before glancing away with a slight blush.

She glanced back just in time to see his expression change slightly. He almost looked surprised, but he didn't get the expression right. His lips pulled down into a frown and his eyebrows rose slightly before he walked a few feet away from her and kept his back to her as if in deep thought.

Sesshomaru felt a strange chill run past him as he glanced back at the young woman standing before him. She resembled the Rin that he had known so well that he had been taken aback at the likeness. He turned back around before walking towards her. Now that he looked upon her closer he saw the differences. Her lips were slightly wider and her hair was a raven black compared to Rin's chestnut brown locks. Her eyes also seemed far wiser than he remembered. There was no naivety nor happiness that he had expected to see in those familiar irises.

He did notice that the curve of her small nose and the shape of her eyes were mirror images of Rin's. Her hair style as well. Whether it was Rin who had inspired it, or her own idea, he could not deny the strange mirror effect. He was sure that it was her likeness to Rin alone that had stopped him from killing her on sight. Any other human would have been slain without a second thought.

"Well, I've told you my name. Now I think it's only proper that you tell me yours," Rin's twin stated as she held his gaze. Her comfort with him was another alien quality that he had never experienced from a human, save for Rin.

"My name is no matter of yours. I was merely passing through," he responded as he turned to leave, no longer wanting to look upon her any longer. A strange twinge in his stomach at the sight of her urged him to leave.

"Is it Sesshomaru?" she asked, and bowed her head when his head turned back to her with eyes slightly narrowed, "Lord Sesshomaru?" she corrected herself. He remained silent as she fidgeted under his gaze, and he was reminded once more of Rin. He quickly adverted his eyes to lessen her discomfort.

"I don't mean to pry, but I think you might be the demon that my grandmother spoke fondly of. She'd even whisper your name sometimes in her sleep until the day she died," Rima explained, and although he expected news of Rin's death upon arrival, having it confirmed bothered him. Rin had grown, aged, and died without him like he had planned. There was no need for him to feel like he had abandoned or failed her.

"Do you ever regret leaving her here?" Rima asked, "Do you miss her, is that why you're here?"

"You ask a lot of questions," he noted.

"She loved you, you know," Rima stated while twisting her palms together, another one of Rin's mannerisms, "even when she married my grandfather. I think she hoped that you'd come for her. I saw it whenever she spoke of you, or told us about her travels with you,"

"Was she...happy here?" he couldn't help but ask. It had been his wish all along that she'd be safe in the human village, and that she'd live out her human life with others like her. She did not deserve to waste away her short years following him.

"Of course she was. Rin was a very happy person, even on her deathbed," Rima replied with a smile, "all her children and grandchildren saw her off, and while we cried she smiled and said it was her time and that she'd watch over us,"

"What was my grandmother like when you knew her?" Rima asked, though he saw her shoulders tense when he turned his body to face her.

"She was kind," he replied simply. She pouted slightly at his lack of explanation, but seemed satisfied by his description.

"She was, wasn't she? She worked hard with the village priestess to take care of the other villagers, and never judged anyone she treated. I heard that she even healed demons who'd collapse in this forest," Rima replied as she glanced at the towering trees around them, "a lot of the villagers hated that she did it, but it won over a lot of demon allies that presently protect the village,"

Sesshomaru found it slightly amusing that even after being attacked by so many demons under his care, Rin could still not deny help to those in need of it. She must have still believed that not all demons were evil.

"_Lord Sesshomaru will come for me! Lord Sesshomaru!"_ her young voice rang in his head as he envisioned her in the hands of Cookie. She hadn't wanted to go to the human village then, even when it offered a safe haven for her. He still did not understand what traits about him had convinced her that he'd come to save her.

"If you would have allowed her to stay with you...do you think you'd be my grandfather instead of Remi?" Rima asked as she eyed him for a moment, "I'd definitely be at least a quarter demon, and prettier," she murmured thoughtfully.

"Why do you speak so freely of demon and human courtships?" Sesshomaru asked in slight agitation. Such interaction was forbidden and shunned by both races. Her comfort with the subject bothered him, more so because he had never imagined that such a thing would be accepted among the masses.

"Well, after Rin helped the demons injured near the village a lot of them stayed to protect it. We have a lot of half and quarter demons running around," she giggled with a wink, "so 'demon and human courtships' aren't as rare as they used to be," she added.

"Besides," she continued soberly, "I knew that she loved you and you alone. It most likely fueled her actions, to pay tribute to the kindness you bestowed on her when you saved her life. Perhaps if she had been with you all along she would have been even happier than she was with grandfather Remi," she whispered the last part to herself. Perhaps she was thinking aloud and unaware that he could hear her.

"What was he like?" Sesshomaru asked, and noted the slight pang that hit his stomach at the thought of a man having his way with Rin. The way Rima described their relationship, it sounded like she also had multiple children with the human. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

"He was kind, like her. It was a strange marriage because neither loved the other, at least at first. They married more because they understood each other. Remi knew Rin loved you, and she knew that he had loved a demon as well before she was killed in battle over nearby territory. Neither could give up their previous loves, and knew that the other would understand their pain and wouldn't demand their undivided attention," Rima explained before a reminiscent smile tugged at the corners of her lips,

"Rin always described it like this: He was there for me, even though he could not fully love me. But I never wanted him to, because I couldn't love him in return. In time our understanding of each other's situation gave way to acceptance which then gave way to love. He's a good man and I couldn't ask for more from a husband," Rima continued before giving him a soft smile.

"I love my grandfather Remi, but I think it would've been nice if I had a little demon heritage too. Then I'd at least stand a chance against the kids in the village," she giggled, and the sound mirrored Rin's laugh so much so that Sesshomaru envisioned his ward in her place. His newest gift wrapped around her body as she stood next to him with that happy grin that never seemed to fade.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?" Rima asked as she cocked her head to the side, furthering the twin effect, "do you do that often?"

"You look very much like her," he replied, and noted the proud grin that graced her features.

"Everyone tells me that. I would be upset about it, but I heard that Rin was beautiful when she was my age. She was still beautiful, even when she was old. Her hair turned pure white and she was always smiling and healthy," Rima described as her smile slowly faded.

"She used to say that she daydreamed of you waiting at this very tree on her birthday every year to take her away with you. Did you ever do it?" she asked as Sesshomaru remained silent for a moment before he turned slightly to glance back at the large oak tree.

"Every year," he answered after a time. He had no explanation of why he'd return, other than simple curiosity on Rin's ability to cope among her fellow humans. He knew that he could not allow his ward hope, and yet he'd contradict his decision every year on her birthday with his return.

"Perhaps she will meet you here, someday," Rima stated as Sesshomaru glanced back at her, which urged her to continue, "if she somehow sensed that you were waiting here for her while she was alive, maybe her reborn soul will know to come here to look for you," she added, and her eyes widened slightly before she mildly shook her head and glanced up at the sky.

"Maybe she's with us now," she uttered softly, almost inaudibly, "maybe that's why I felt the need to come to this tree. To see once and for all if the famous demon of my grandmother's dreams really did come to this tree and wait for her on her birthday,"

(Divider)

_A/N: So, kind of an awkward place to stop since, technically, Sesshomaru is still standing there with Rima and potentially has more to say to her, but I hit all the points I wanted to in this one-shot. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!_


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